5 things Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. wants residents to know

Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 12, 2009 07:00 AM

Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. officials battled criticism from city officials and residents this week and argued that the company’s south Phoenix asphalt plant operates in an environmentally responsible manner.

“I have heard people say that there are noxious fumes coming from this plant,” said Darrick Manezes, Fisher’s environmental manager. “That is simply not true.”

The smell may be strong at times, but it’s not harmful, he said.

Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. is part of Fisher Industries, a Dickinson, N.D.-based firm that operates in 10 states and has been awarded $45 million in state roadwork contracts in the past year.

The firm’s asphalt plant, 3828 S. 28th St., has come under fire from south Phoenix residents and city officials.

Residents complain the plant produces smoke, dust and a hot rubber odor. A Phoenix Municipal Court judge ruled that Fisher never obtained a proper Phoenix permit to build the plant. Fisher has appealed.

Fisher also faces possible fines from environmental regulators for violations at the plant and at mining sites around the state.

The hourlong community meeting Wednesday at Broadway Heritage Neighborhood Resource Center drew about 20 residents, including City Councilman Michael Johnson and state Rep. Cloves Campbell Jr., D-Phoenix.

Here are five things that Fisher officials told residents:

via 5 things Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. wants residents to know.

Burning propane tanks fuel blaze, send up huge smoke plume

 

PHOENIX — A firefighter has been transported to a Valley hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation while fighting a blaze in south Phoenix Friday.

The fire reportedly began in a shed, sending huge plumes of smoke into the sky south of downtown Phoenix Friday afternoon.

Gravel firm has history of pollution

Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., the subject of a county crackdown for air pollution in south Phoenix, has been cited by state inspectors for similar offenses in other parts of Arizona.

Over the past five years, Fisher has racked up 60 violations from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Records show that ADEQ workers have cited Fisher for operating industrial equipment without proper permits on site, failing to suppress dust and failing to keep air pollution within proper limits.

read the full article Gravel firm has history of pollution.